General introduction to the COSOPO- programme

3. COMPARATIVE SOCIAL POLICY AND WELFARE- PROGRAMME

3.2. General introduction to the COSOPO- programme

International degree programmes have become very popular in Finland over the past few decades, especially master degree programmes, which have increased in Finnish universities. For instance, in 2005 there were 88 international master degree programmes but in 2008 there were 178 international master degree programmes held in English in Finland. (Garam, 2009, 5.) In 2008, the first Comparative Social Policy and Welfare (COSOPO) joint degree programme in three universities, Mykolas Romeris University (Lithuania), Johannes Kepler Universität (Austria) and University of Tampere (Finland), started. In first round of COSOPO programme, there were 23 students who are graduated or are about to graduate in the near future. In COSOPO programme’s web-site, the programme is said to offer students great possibilities for their working life after graduation. Also, after graduation it is possible to continue doing PhD studies.

The first round started in 2008 and endured two years. It included three intensive programmes in all universities and online learning in Moodle environment.(COSOPO- about the programme.) The second round started in September 2010 and 18 students from three universities started their studies in the programme. However, some students from the second round also dropped out in the

beginning and during the studies. To apply to the COSOPO master’s degree programme, applicants were required to write different kinds of application forms, prove that they have good English language skills and write a motivation letter, to express their interest to the programme. Two universities, University of Tampere and Johannes Kepler Universität, did require a motivation letter as one of the criteria to get into the master’s degree programme, however Mykolas Romeris University had other requirements.

There are different reasons to apply for a master’s degree programme. One could be that applicants are in a certain phase of their life, they are looking for something new and they are thinking about their study prospects, and future career prospects, which means that they are making life choices.

Another thing could be that applicants want to make individual choices in their life-course, and do something very different contrary to other students. On the other hand, it is a good possibility to meet people who could have similar interests, such as interest towards social sciences and the same kind of a global view. All in all, COSOPO master’s degree programme is a unique programme compared to other programmes from the same field. Both, life choices and individualism, will effect when they are thinking about applying to a master’s degree programme. Furthermore, they have the will to study foreign cultures and meeting new people. A person must have a lot of courage to put himself/herself into a new position and travel and live abroad, without a safety net such as family and friends. Therefore, the applicants have to be confident enough and have the courage to take the next step in their studies.

The applicants may have had some expectations about their future when they applied to the programme. The programme advertisement was attractive, because they decided to apply for the programme. Maybe they saw the possibilities the programme would give to them in the future.

Maybe they thought that after the graduation they would have better options in the labour markets and especially at the international level. Moreover, the international degree would be a great achievement on the curriculum vitae. In addition, the applicants wanted to improve their language skills, even though they already had good language skills. Contrary, some applicants might not think about the future prospects and possibilities after graduation, perhaps they just drifted into the programme. In addition, the application process can be seen as a competition because there were plenty of applicants and only a limited amount of places available for students. Therefore, applicants should also create an attractive picture of themselves.

My first idea was to study how COSOPO- student from the first round have integrated successfully in the labour markets. It was an interesting theme. I was interested to find out have the former

students found a job. However, after collecting the contact e-mails for few months, I found out in late December 2011 that there were only few students who had graduated. Others were still doing the thesis or they had dropped out from the programme. I decided to include the un-graduates and dropped outs to the research and I got quite far with this concept and even started collecting the material from Facebook- discussions. However, it turned out that the participants did not want to participate actively to discussions on Facebook. Assumingly, there were several reasons for that.

Perhaps Facebook was not that private place for discussions, even though the group was closed. In addition, the group might have had some disappointments about the programme because it was the first COSOPO- round ever, and they might have had different expectations about it. Furthermore, some of them were still doing their thesis and the topic about life after graduation did not move them. Moreover, perhaps they were busy with their lives and they did not have the time to focus on my questions and think about them through.

Due to the difficulties I faced during the data collection, I had to choose another way to approach this topic and I choose to study the motivation letters, the applicants did send to the universities when applying to the programme. Motivation letters were a solution for the data problems: I could still study COSOPO- students but the material already exists which was helping me a lot during the process. However, I did not get the motivation without difficulties. Lithuanians did not write motivation letters at all and in Johannes Kepler University the applicants wrote the letters either in English or in German. In addition, they did not save the motivation letters from the first round because of the different regulations. In Finland, the motivation letters are saved for several years, even if the applicant got refused. All in all, the amount of letters was 16 in total. The data collection did show the difficulties of the joint degree programme in three different universities. It seemed like every university had their own regulations regarding how to apply to the programme and how to archive all the material. The process of this thesis has shown me that even if there is a good idea, the topic, material, methods can change during the thesis writing.

3.3. The meaning of motivation letter

It is common to ask the applicant to write a motivation letter or a cover letter, when they are applying to university, or exchange programme. In addition, several employers ask for a motivation letter or a cover letter to explain why they should be selected for the job. In Finland, the university asks the applicant to write a motivation letter usually when they are applying for an international bachelor degree-, master’s degree-, or PhD programme. However, it could be possible to graduate

from Finnish university without writing motivation letters, for example if the student is not doing an exchange programme. However, in other countries the motivation letters are quite common. For instance, in many countries the education is chargeable and students are trying to get a grant for studying, which means that they have to send lots of applications as well as motivation letters. In most of the programmes, there are no resources available to interview the applicants in advance, which is why the motivation letter becomes the only option for the university to learn the personality of the applicant. Therefore, the meaning of motivation letter has become more and more important as a barometer of the selection criteria of students.

Garam (2009,47) researched what are the main methods in Finnish universities, and universities of applied sciences to find out if the applicant is suitable for the programme. The most popular method in Finland is a diploma from the university where the student is studying. In fact, that is the most popular criteria as, 23% of the university programmes are using that as the only criteria for the process of getting accepted on to a degree programme in Finland. However, 23% are also using the diploma and some other evidence, such as motivation letter, recommendation, essay or portfolio, to proof the applicants’ knowledge and qualification for the programme. Thirdly, 20% of the universities are using the diploma, other evidence and interview to find the best, and most suitable, students for their programmes. Recruiting methods are perhaps dependent on the study programme.

One could think that for example to an art programme there should be a portfolio or language test if someone is coming to study advanced Finnish or Swedish. (Garam, 2009, 46-47.). To sum up, Finnish universities and universities of applied sciences are using motivation letters, when they are recruiting students to their degree programmes.

There are different guides regarding how to write the perfect motivation letter. Especially on Internet, as there are several websites that are either offering their help to correct the motivation letter, or that give good tips how to write one. For instance, mastersportal.eu gives good examples of how to write a good motivation letter:

“1. Make your goal clear; provide a short preview of the rest of the letter.

2. Why do you think that the university and the Master’s program are interesting and suitable for you?

3. Focus on some of your strongest qualifications, past experiences (international experiences are always relevant) and qualities; organize the middle paragraphs in terms of the qualifications most relevant for the program, you can also refer to your CV for more details;

4. Conclude by restating your interest and show appreciation for the chance to prove yourself in the letter (in some cases you can ask for a personal interview).”

(Mastersportal EU)

The Erasmus Mundus Student Handbook for applicants encourages the applicants to write something personal about themselves. In addition, if there is any experience from volunteer work or other hobbies that could help the applicants, these should be mentioned in the letter. Moreover, the guidebook suggests that the applicants should write about their academic ambitions and future career plans. The writers also suggest writing about the expectations the applicants have about the programme. (Erasmus Mundus Student Handbook.) The requirements for the COSOPO- programme are similar to Erasmus Mundus Student Handbook and are presented in chapter four. To sum up, several degree programmes are using a motivation letter as one of the selection criteria of acceptance to a programme . To write a successful motivation letter, there are plenty of guidebooks, especially online. However, usually the programmes give instructions how to write a good motivatin letter.

4. OBJECTIVES, DATA AND METHODS

In this chapter, I will first present the research question for my master’s thesis, before introducing the data I have chosen. I will then present general process of qualitative analysis methods. In addition, I will examine further using categorical analysis, the method I have chosen. The most important concern is to test whether the chosen method fits the data. Therefore, at the end I will use some examples of the methods I am using for my analysis.

4.1 Research Question

People have different turning points and transitions during their lifetime. Transitions can be small or big, such as giving birth and creating a family, or moving abroad. On the other hand, the transition does not have to be that tremendous; it could be a transition from home to grocery store.

(Ecclestone, et al, 2005, 7.) In this case, the turning point and transition means the possibility to be accepted on to a Master’s degree programme and moving abroad to starting a new life somewhere far away from home. In addition, it meant the possibility to start a creation of new social networks, finding a new house to live in and possibly finding a job whilst studying. The possible transition and change in life is a meaningful decision in young people’s lives and thus the motivation letter could be seen as a ticket to this turning point in life. Therefore, the meaning of the motivation letter is very significant.

When someone writes a motivation letter, or a cover letter to apply for a job, university programme, or grant, they should represent themselves in a certain way to the reader. Even though everyone has their own personal way of representing themselves, I am interested in the bigger picture regarding the motivation letter. I am studying how people represent themselves in the motivation letter.

Especially, they wish to create a certain image about a good student, and not only create the image, they want to fit that image as well. Therefore, there is a reciprocal connection in the question and I will try to look at it from both sides.

From the data I will firstly investigate how the applicants are categorizing a competent social policy student and how they are representing it in their motivation letters. Secondly, I will consider what kind of an image of a competent student they are creating in their motivation letters and how do they take up a position in that model they have created.

I chose motivation letters as my data, because in the motivation letters people represent themselves in a positive frame and they create a certain image of themselves. From the motivation letters it is possible to categorize how do the applicants categorize a competent social policy student.

Furthermore, the motivation letters are natural solution for the data because it already exists.

4.2. Introducing the data

I chose to collect the data from three universities, University of Tampere, Johannes Kepler Universität and Mykolas Romeris University. The reasons for choosing these three universities were because the universities were part of the COSOPO- programme. For all of the universities there was an open call in 2008 and 2010. To apply for the programme, applicants were required to have a bachelor degree from an adequate field, such as political science, social economics, social policy, sociology, or social work (COSOPO- Admission Criteria). In addition, applicants had to have a good level of English and to prove that they had to take TOEFL or another equivalently internationally recognised language test before applying to the programme (COSOPO- Eligibility Requirements). Thirdly, they had to write a motivation letter, which I will use in my research. For the second round of the COSOPO programme in Tampere, there were very clear instructions how to write a motivation letter:

Describe the reasons why you want to study at the University of Tampere and in the (Master’s) programme that you are applying to. Also indicate your intended source of funding (Please notice that the university does not have any scholarships to offer).

Specify your qualifications and the extent of your knowledge in the subjects you have taken in your previous studies. Provide any further information that you feel may be relevant to your application (Max. 7000 characters) (COSOPO application material)

I will use the motivation letters that applicants sent to Johannes Kepler Universität and University of Tampere, because the data already exist. I will use the motivation letters that applicants sent to Johannes Kepler Universität and University of Tampere, because the data already exist. From Johannes Kepler Universität, I obtained the data from the university staff and the coordinators of the programme. I received the motivation letters from the university staff without any names or other personal information. However, I asked a permission to use the motivation letters individually from each COSOPO student via e-mail before I started to analyse the motivation letters. In addition, during the data collection process, I tried to get the motivation letters directly from the students who had been studying in COSOPO, however, it turned out that most of them did not have the motivation letters anymore, or they had written it in German.

It was not easy to collect the data, because of the problems with bureaucracy; for instance there were different methods of storing the motivation letters in Johannes Kepler Universität. I Johannes Kepler Universität, they do not store the motivation letters; therefore, the motivation letters from the previous round (1) were thrown away. In addition, in Johannes Kepler Universität, the language option for the motivation letter was either English or German, which is why most of the students chose to write their motivation letters in German. I chose to analyse the motivation letters that were written in English. One of the reasons was that I do not speak German and if I had translated the letters, it could have probably changed the meaning of the letter.

I obtained the data from University of Tampere in a same way as I did in Johannes Kepler Universität. However, I did not have any problems with receiving the data because in Tampere all the motivation letters should be stored for two years. In addition, university staff did have all the e-mail addresses, which helped me to find former students and ask their permission. Furthermore, those motivation letters from students who were accepted to the programme should be stored for 10 years. Some of the applicants who applied to University of Tampere did not start their studies in COSOPO and it was impossible to track down the applicants who were accepted to the programme but did not start their studies. Therefore, I obtained permission from University of Tampere, to use these motivation letters as well.

Due to different regulations between joint universities, there are no motivation letters from Mykolas Romeris University. According to the strict bureaucracy in Lithuania, it was impossible to obtain the letters. On the other hand, I obtained information that In Mykolas Romeris University, the applicants did not have to write motivation letters at all, because they got accepted to the programme in a different way. Because of the different regulations and bureaucracy, there are

different volumes of motivation letters from the University of Tampere and Johannes Kepler Universität.

In total, I obtained 16 motivation letters, nine motivation letters from male applicants and seven motivation letters from female applicants. The motivation letters are semi-formal letters to the coordinator at the university who was choosing the students for the programme. The ages of the applicants were from approximately 20 to 40 years old. It was interesting to note that not only were the applicants all over the world, but were from different study fields. It was interesting to discover that the applicants were not only from the fields of social policy and social work, but there were also applicants from study fields such as international relations, engineering, economics, development studies, political science, media studies and sociology. Some of the students had been working after doing their bachelor studies and after several years of working, had decided to return to university. On the other hand, there were students who had finished their bachelor studies directly before applying to the programme. Therefore, the age distribution was very large.

Moreover, some of them had been working many years and some of them did not have any working experience at all. In conclusion, the applicants’ backgrounds were very diverse.

Since the data sample was small and it was taken from a small group of people, I chose to code the motivation letters by dividing them first into male and female- categories and after that giving each

In document Categorizing a competent social policy student - Analysis of motivation letters to Comparative Social Policy and Welfare programme (sivua 21-0)